Railway car door fixture



Dec. 24, 1935. G G]| P|N 2,025,200

RAILWAY CAR DOOR FIXTURE Original Filed March 27, 1950 2 SheetS -Shet 1 Even/$0 1 awake: Gz'nlzv Dec. 24, 1935; e. c. 'GlLPlN 2,025,200

\ RAILWAY CAR DOOR FIXTURE Original Filed March 27, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A frzvenor Garth 6: fizzozln/ Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES RAILWAY CAR DOOR FIXTURE Garth G. Gilpin, Riverside, Ill., assignor to Bailway Metal Products Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Original application March 2'7, 1930, Serial No.

439,398. Patent 1,967,819, July 24, 1934. Di-

vided and this application September 19, 1932,

Serial No. 633,707

2 Claims.

Side doors of railway freight cars are arranged to slide horizontally to open or close the door opening and antifriction rollers are provided between the door and the supporting element to reduce the effort required to move the door. The inertia of such a door caused by the sudden stopping or starting of the car bangs or slams it against the front or back stop causing damage to the car and the door and resulting in a leaky car. Even if the door is locked such inertia causes considerable strain upon the locking mechanism. An object of my invention is to transfer the weight of the door from the anti-friction rollers to a rigid part of the door and thence directly to the track so that the tendency of the door to move longitudinally of the track will be resisted by the friction between such rigid part of the door and the track, thereby retaining ,the door in a predetermined position. It is desirable to retain the door in a closed position or in full open position; however, my arrangement can be varied to retain the door in any position therebetween. The increased weight of the doors caused by the metallic reinforcements used thereon and the use of all steel doors has increased the necessity for such an arrangement.

Another object, of the invention is to provide a construction wherein the inertia of the door, due to the movement of the car, is transferred from the looking or holding mechanism to a track positioned below the door.

Another object of the invention is to provide means or mechanisms for transferring the weight of the door from the fixed part on the car body to the anti-friction rollers or vice versa by moving the door one way or the other longitudinally of the track.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a typical railway car door provided with my improved door fixtures.

Fig. 2 is a section through the door and associated parts with the roller in engagement with the track.

Fig. 3 is similar to Fig. 4 and shows the roller out of engagement with the track.

Fig'. 4 is a plan view of part of the track.

The drawings show a typical railway car side door and the associated parts of the car wherein the door 2 is provided with rollers 3 which run along the track 4 which is mounted upon the car below the door and is supported upon the side sill 5 of the car by brackets 6. The upper part of the door is retained adjacent the car and is provided with some waterproofing means. The door is limited in its forward movement by the front stop l4 and in its backward movement by the back stops [5.

The rollers are mounted upon the door by means of the brackets 4| so as to normally engage the track 4 which is supported to the side of the car by means of the brackets 6. The roller bracket 4| is provided with a flange 45 depending behind the track 4. At predetermined spaced intervals the track is provided with inclined portions or guideways 46 which merges into a horizontal 5 portion or shelf 41. As the roller approaches these portions the depending member or flange 45 engages the inclined portion 46 and moves the door toward the car, and upon further movement of the door along the track, the depending flange 45 rides upon the horizontal portion 41 of the track and raises the roller from the track, thereby transferring the weight of the door from the roller 40 to the horizontal portion 41 of the track. The construction may be used without the inclined portion 46.

The arrangement may be designed to relieve the rollers of the weight of the door at any predetermined position or positions. I prefer, however, tohave the roller relieved of the weight 20 of the door when the door is in closed position and also when in fully open position.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

This is a division of my co-pending application 3 Serial No. 439,398, filed March 27, 1930, which application has matured into Patent No. 1,967,819, issued July 24, 1934.

I claim:

1. In a railway car, a track having a tread arranged to engage roller means supporting a door and a member on the door extending below the tread, said track formed with a shelf in the path of said member, said elements associated and arranged so that as the door is moved along the track, said member rides upon said shelf and raises said roller means from the tread whereby the tendency of the door to move longitudinally of the track is frictionally resisted by the friction between said member and said shelf.

2. In a railway car, a track having a tread arranged to engage roller means supporting a door and a member on the door extending below the tread, said track formed with a shelf in the path of said member, said track also provided with a guideway inclined in a substantially horizontal plane and another guideway inclined in a substantially vertical plane, said elements associated and arranged so that as the door is moved along the track the guideways move the member toward the car and upon the shelf whereby the tendency of the door to move longitudinally of the track is frictionally resisted by the friction between said member and said shelf.

GARTH G. GILPIN. 

